Have You Ever Seen

Ryan Ellis
  • 4.3 (139)
  • FILM REVIEWS
  • UPDATED SEMIWEEKLY

Ryan and Bev Ellis are partners in film nerdery who share their often humorous musings on the AFI's 1998 & 2007 lists of the greatest 100 American films ever made. But we finished with that in December 2015, so now we just review anything we feel like!

  1. 4D AGO

    The Palm Beach Story

    I'd like to know what's buzzin', cousins, as I bring you the 716th podcast on Have You Ever Seen. Preston Sturges was making a lot of hay in the early '40s, releasing The Lady Eve AND Sullivan's Travels the year before The Palm Beach Story came out. Palm Beach isn't as classic or as funny as THOSE two are, but it's an effectively zany, fast-talkin' rom-com. Claudette Colbert and Joel McCrea make for a compelling married NYC couple. She tries to divorce him (you'll never guess where), so she can marry a rich man like Rudy Vallee...and then help her ex out by getting him some money out of the deal. If you think THAT'S whacky, wait until the out-of-deep-left-field ending! But The Palm Beach Story IS a fun time and I've got all kinds of stories to tell about it. Subscribe to this channel and you'll never miss an episode. I'm doing more shows lately...and posting on various days of the week. Rate and review the podcast in your app too. Letterboxd: RyanHYES. Email: haveyoueverseenpodcast@gmail.com. Twi-X: @moviefiend51. And Bluesky: ryan-ellis.

    39 min

  2. FEB 6

    Kid Millions & Soup To Nuts

    After yesterday's episode about the unchosen 450 actors & actresses who were in fact nominated for the AFI's Top 100 Stars list, now it's time to begin a quest. I will review the films of MANY of the 180-ish folks who this podcast has never discussed. And since Eddie Cantor, Ann Sothern, George Murphy & the Nicholas Brothers are in Kid Millions and the Three Stooges are in Soup To Nuts, I'm knocking 5 names off the "must-cover" list in 1 double episode! This 715th show on Have You Ever Seen digs into the musical-comedy adventure about Cantor inheriting a lot of money (Kid), then it's time for a zany goof about romance & chowderhead firefighters (Nuts). So strap in to hear about these two B&W romps from the '30s as my quest to talk about the previously-unreviewed AFI acting nominees takes flight. Well, Actually: at around the 16-minute mark, the line should have been "these are white actors playing Muslim Africans", not "Muslim Americans". Subscribe! Then you can't miss out when I post shows like this on days other than Monday. Rate and review Have You Ever Seen as well. And I finally posted some new reviews on Letterboxd not long ago! Look for "RyanHYES". Contact me with your OWN thoughts about the films I discuss: "ryan-ellis" on Bluesky, "@moviefiend51" on Twi-x and you can email me at "haveyoueverseenpodcast@gmail.com".

    40 min

  3. FEB 5

    AFI's Old-Timey Actors Listicle

    Surprise! I didn't say during Monday's episode that I'd be posting 2 podcasts later in the same week, but here's the first one. Here I'm talking about the American Film Institute's Top 100 Stars list, which was really 50 stars (25 men, 25 women). Although their odd numbering method isn't really the point…and neither is their dumb criteria. No, this 714th Have You Ever Seen podcast is REALLY about the 450 people who were nominated, but didn't make the cut. My plan is to review as many of the 180-ish up-until-now-omitted actors & actresses as I possibly can in the months and years ahead. So if you ever wanted to hear a guy rattling off about 500 names, then this monologue about the AFI's Old-Timey Actors is your dream episode! Oh, and tune in again tomorrow when I begin this quest by talking about 2 B&W '30s comedies: Kid Millions and Soup To Nuts. Subscribe to Have You Ever Seen in your app, but also rate and review the show. To hear more of my rambunctiousness, you can search for me on Letterboxd as well: RyanHYES. Feedback: email (haveyoueverseenpodcast@gmail.com), Twi-X (@moviefiend51) and Bluesky (ryan-ellis).

    53 min

  4. FEB 2

    Show Boat

    It may be Groundhog Day, but I'm talking about Show Boat, the Hammerstein & Kern Broadway musical that was turned into a big-budget movie. Any film with singing that also has subplots about deadbeat husbands, alcoholism and racism (and a scene with blackface) risks failing to pull off such a tricky balance, but Frankenstein director James Whale DOES make it work. He's got Irene Dunne, Allan Jones and Paul Robeson in key roles in the one where performers on a touring boat in the Deep South…eventually end up in Chicago for about half of the often erroneously-titled movie. So let this ol' man podcaster talk to you about "Ol' Man River" (and so much more) in this 713th dash of Have You Ever Seen podcasting. Well, Actually: around the 39:00 mark, the line SHOULD have been that Hammerstein and RODGERS (not Kern) were especially big in the '50s. Subscribe to the podcast in your app. Rate the show and write a review too. Also, hunt down my link on Letterboxd: RyanHYES. To offer your feedback, email me (haveyoueverseenpodcast@gmail.com), tweet me (@moviefiend51) or try Bluesky (ryan-ellis).

    46 min

  5. JAN 26

    The Killers

    Character actor extraordinaire Edmond O'Brien's insurance investigator is actually the focus in Robert Siodmak's The Killers, but Burt Lancaster is quite powerful in his big-screen debut. And then there's the stunning Ava Gardner as the devious femme fatale. The entire cast is solid, the story is layered in its flashback structure (which is similar to Citizen Kane), plus, the main insurance-claim storyline is similar to what happens in Double Indemnity. And it all works really well. So steal money from your fellow thieves as the 712th podcast on Have You Ever Seen looks at the sinister intrigue and sudden violence in The Killers. Well, Actually: at the 41:00 minute mark, the line should have been "co-starring a WOMAN who doesn't love the main character." Be a bright boy and smart off to me with an email: haveyoueverseenpodcast@gmail.com. Or try social media with Twi-X (@moviefiend51) or Bluesky (ryan-ellis). Review this show and rate it on your app. Subscribe as well. And look me up on Letterboxd: RyanHYES.

    44 min

  6. JAN 23

    Fargo Redux

    The fabulous Fargo was reviewed on this channel over 10 years ago, but you betcha believe that seeing it again a few weeks ago prompted some note-taking. So while the bright light in Joel & Ethan Coen's very violent comedy, the Oscar-winning France McDormand, is wonderful as the pregnant hero cop--and Macy, Buscemi, Stormare and Presnell are horrible, stupid or both--the point of this fresh Fargo look is to ask Reasonably Good Questions and make some "oh yeah" type points about the plot. So, geez, you're not sellin' me a car here, Jerry! Just lock and load episode #711 of Have You Ever Seen as I dig into Fargo for the second time in about 10 years. Rate the podcast, review it and subscribe. Also, look for my page on Letterboxd: RyanHYES. Contact options: "haveyoueverseenpodcast@gmail.com" via email, "@moviefiend51" on Twi-X and "ryan-ellis" on Bluesky.

    21 min

  7. JAN 19

    A Raisin In The Sun

    Reviews about black movies on Martin Luther King Day haven't been a tradition on this channel, but episode #710 is all about Sidney Poitier, Ruby Dee, Claudia McNeil and a cast that (mostly) looks just like them. In A Raisin In The Sun, they're a tumultuous family who come into a windfall of insurance money…and how to spend it is the thrust of the drama. Put it all into…a house? An education? A bar? Through all that, director Daniel Petrie's finest film gets into issues of alcoholism, financial difficulty, family squabbles, family love and racism. So come hear about the Youngers go through it all in this monologue about A Raisin In The Sun. Subscribe to the 'cast in your app while also giving some thought to rating the show (*****) and also jotting down a review. Find me on Letterboxd (RyanHYES) and also find me on social media. It's "@moviefiend51" on Twi-X and "ryan-ellis" on Bluesky. Another option is email: haveyoueverseendpodcast@gmail.com

    39 min

  8. JAN 12

    Michael Clayton

    Michael Clayton was released right in the middle of George Clooney's 15-year run of remarkably successful filmmaking. From 1998 to 2013, the charismatic star--who so often played it best when he played it weary--acted in, directed, wrote and/or produced some of the best projects around. He got money, awards...or both. And in Tony Gilroy's directorial debut, Clooney is intense and he's just terrific as a law firm's "fixer". He's assigned to try to talk down mentally-ill super-lawyer Tom Wilkinson, who's tanking a lawsuit because he discovered wrong-doing by the company he represents. Tilda Swinton won an Oscar for her oddball, yet still restrained performance (restrained for her, at least) as a fixer for that evil-doing company. Gilroy's complex throwback to '70s legal thrillers is one of the very best dramas of the Aughts. So admire some horses and scarf a dozen or more loaves of fresh bread while you fire up the 709th episode of Have You Ever Seen. Be a subscriber of this podcast, but also review the show and assign a tidy 5-star rating. Also, look for me to sometimes write reviews on Letterboxd: RyanHYES. Contact options: email (haveyoueverseenpodcast@gmail.com), Twitter (@moviefiend51) and Bluesky (ryan-ellis).

    49 min
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4.3
out of 5
139 Ratings

About

Ryan and Bev Ellis are partners in film nerdery who share their often humorous musings on the AFI's 1998 & 2007 lists of the greatest 100 American films ever made. But we finished with that in December 2015, so now we just review anything we feel like!

Information

  • Creator
    Ryan Ellis
  • Years Active
    2013 - 2026
  • Episodes
    716
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Show Website
    Have You Ever Seen

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